The term photovoltaic refers to the production of electricity, normally direct electrical current, from light at the junction between two materials that are exposed to the light. The light is normally sunlight and therefore photovoltaic is often referred to as solar photovoltaic. It is known to use semiconductors for the two materials. The semiconductor materials used exhibit a photovoltaic effect.
The two materials are usually semiconductors, a p-type and an n-type semiconductor material. When joined together the boundary or interface between the two types of semiconductor material is referred to as a p-n junction. This type of p-n junction is usually created by doping one material with the other material. The doping may be by diffusion, ion implantation or epitaxy. The later involves growing a second layer of crystal doped with one type of dopant on top of a first layer of crystal doped with a different type of dopant.
The p-n junction can be found in most optoelectronic devices that use semiconductors. These optoelectronic devices include photovoltaic or solar photovoltaic cells, diodes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and transistors. The p-n junction can be thought of as the active site where the generation or consumption of electrical energy occurs.
The demand for sources of renewable energy has driven significant improvements in the cost and efficiency of solar photovoltaic cells but existing technology still represents a relatively expensive method of generating electricity. Also, existing solar photovoltaic cells are relatively inefficient compared to other methods of generating electricity and are relatively fragile, that is they are relatively easily damaged.
One of the problems with existing solar photovoltaic cells is the difficulty producing a surface suitable for application of the necessary electrical conductor and semiconductor materials. Many known surfaces are difficult and therefore expensive to produce. The present invention aims to mitigate one or more of the disadvantages of existing solar photovoltaic cells.